1991 Rebellion Anniversary in Iraqi Kurdistan Date in the current year: March 5, 2018

1991 Rebellion Anniversary is an official remembrance day in Iraqi Kurdistan, the only autonomous region of Iraq. It commemorates a series of popular rebellions that occurred in northern and southern Iraq in spring 1991, following the ceasefire of the Gulf War.

The rebellions were mostly fueled by the perception that Saddam Hussein had become vulnerable to regime change because of his defeat in the war. Participants of the mostly uncoordinated uprising included Shia Arab Islamists, Kurdish nationalists, military mutineers, and far-left groups.

Uprisings in southern Iraq began near Basra on March 1, 1991. On March 5, a rebellion erupted in the north, in the town of Rania in Iraqi Kurdistan. Withing 10 days, Kurdish nationalists, Islamists, communists, army deserters and defected militiamen took control of most cities in the north. After the fall of Kirkuk on March 20, the rebels gained control over the entire ethnic Kurdistan.

However, regime loyalists managed to regroup and went on an offensive. On April 5, the government announced that the rebellion had been crushed. In the north, fighting continued until October and eventually lead to the establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government and de facto autonomy of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The anniversary of the rebellion is officially celebrated in Iraqi Kurdistan. There also are other remembrance days dedicated to the uprising: Sulaymaniyah Liberation Day (March 7), Duhok Liberation Day (March 13), and Kirkuk Liberation Day (March 20).